VERBS IN SWAHILI

 

MONOSYLLABIC VERBS

There is one very important set of verbs that operate in a slightly irregular way. These are “monosyllabic verbs”–those verbs whose verb roots are just a single consonant sound (no vowels). Here are five monosyllabic verbs that you will use frequently, presented below in infinitive form:

 

Kuja: To come

 

Kula: To eat

 

Kunywa: To drink

 

Kufa: To die

 

Kupa: To give

 

When conjugating monosyllabic verbs in the basic affirmative tenses (-na-, -li-, -me-, -ta-), the infinitive “ku” remains affixed to the verb root. Some examples:

Present Tense

 

Ni-na-(ku)j-a –> Ninakuja (I am coming)

 

U-na-(ku)l-a –> Unakula (You are eating)

 

How would you say, “They are drinking?”

 

Simple Past Tense

 

A-li-(ku)f-a –> Alikufa (He died)

 

M-li-(ku)w-a –> Mlikuwa (You all were)

 

How would you say, “I ate?”

 

Past Perfect

 

Tu-me-(ku)nyw-a –> Tumekunywa (We have drunk)

 

U-me-(ku)p-a –> Umekupa (You have given)

 

How would you say, “They have died?”

 

Future Tense

 

Ni-ta-(ku)l-a –> Nitakula (I will eat)

 

M-ta-ka-(ku)j-a–> Mtakuja (You all will come)

 

How would you say, “You all will be?”

DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TO HAVE AND TO BE

-         The verb “to have” – “NA”

-         The verb “to be” – “KUWA”

KUWA: TO BE

The most frequently used monosyllabic verb is kuwa: “to be.” The conjugation of “kuwa” in the present tense is irregular. In the present tense, the conjugation of “kuwa” for all subjects is simply “Ni.”  I am, you are, he is, she is, it is, etc. All are just “ni.” So, to say “I am a teacher,” you would say, “mimi ni mwalimu.” “You are a teacher would be,” “wewe ni mwalimu.” Very easy. The verb follows the normal conjugation format, though, as other monosyllabic verbs for all other affirmative tenses:

 

U-li-(ku)w-a –> Ulikuwa : You were

 

A-ta-(ku)w-a –> Atakuwa: He will be

 

Wa-me-(ku)w-a –> Wamekuwa: They have been

 

KUWA NA: TO HAVE

To say “to have,” we combine “kuwa” (to be) and “na,” the conjunction meaning “with”, “and”, or “by”. The conjugation for the constructed verb is irregular.

 

In the present tense, we simply combine the subject prefix with “na” in a single word:

 

Mimi nina: I have

 

Wewe una: You have

 

Yeye ana: He/she has

 

Sisi tuna: We have

 

Ninyi mna: You all have

 

Wao wana: They have

 

When conjugating “kuwa na”in the all other tenses, we return to the normal rules of conjugation, and the “na” is separated from the conjugated verb:

 

Mimi nilikuwa na: I had

 

Yeye atakuwa na: He/she will have

Ninyi mmekuwa na: You all have had